TO CARDINAL LUDOVICO D'ARAGON, NEPHEW OF OUR KING
When Columbus returned from the land which he believed to be the
Indian continent, he learned that the Friar Boyl[1] and Pedro
Margarita,[2] the nobleman who formerly enjoyed the King's friendship,
as well as several others to whom he had confided the government of
Hispaniola, had departed for Spain animated by evil intentions. In
order that he might justify himself before the sovereigns, in case
they should have been prejudiced by the reports of his enemies, and
also for the purpose of recruiting colonists to replace those who had
left, and to replenish the failing foodstuffs, such as wheat, wine,
oil, and other provisions which form the ordinary food of Spaniards,
who do not easily accustom themselves to that of the natives, he
decided to betake himself to the Court, which at that time was
resident at Burgos, a celebrated town of Old Castile. But I must
relate briefly what he did before his departure.
[Note 1: The character of Padre Boyl has been somewhat
rehabilitated by Padre Fita, S.J. (_Memoires du Congr. Amer. de
Madrid_, 1881), but he can hardly be deemed comparable as a missionary
to the zealous, self-sacrificing friars who followed with such perfect
evangelic spirit a few years later. He was at perpetual enmity with
both the Admiral and his brother.]
[Note 2: Pedro de Margarita had been appointed by Columbus
military commander in the island; his conduct was marked by
ingratitude towards the Admiral.]
The caciques of the island had always been contented with little, for
they lived a peaceful and tranquil life. When they saw the Spaniards
establishing themselves upon their native soil, they were considerably
troubled, and desired above all things either to expel the newcomers
or to destroy them so completely that not even their memory should
remain. It is a fact that the people who accompanied the Admiral in
his second voyage were for the most part undisciplined, unscrupulous
vagabonds, who only employed their ingenuity in gratifying their
appetites. Incapable of moderation in their acts of injustice, they
carried off the women of the islanders under the very eyes of their
brothers and their husbands; given over to violence and thieving, they
had profoundly vexed the natives. It had happened in many places that
when our men were surprised by the natives, the latter strangled them,
and offered them as sacrifices to their gods. Convinced that he should
put down a general insurrection by punishing the murderers of the
Spaniards, Columbus summoned the cacique of this valley, lying at the
foot off the Ciguano Mountains, which are described in the preceding
book. This cacique was called Guarionex. He had been pleased to give
his sister to be the wife of that Diego Columbus who had been from his
infancy brought up by the Admiral, and had served him as interpreter
during his occupation of Cuba. Guarionex had hoped by these means to
establish a more intimate friendship with the Admiral. He afterwards
sent one of his officers to Caunaboa, cacique of the mountains of
Cibao, which is the gold region. The people of this Caunaboa had
besieged Hojeda and fifty soldiers in the blockhouse of San Tomas and,
had they not heard of the approaching arrival of Columbus in person at
the head of imposing reinforcements, they would never have raised the
siege.[3] The Admiral chose Hojeda as his envoy, and while the latter
was engaged in his mission, several caciques[4] sent from different
parts to urge Caunaboa not to allow the Christians to settle in the
island, unless he wished to exchange independence for slavery; for if
the Christians were not expelled to the last man from the island, all
the natives would sooner or later become their slaves. Hojeda, on the
other hand, negotiated with Caunaboa, urging him to come in person to
visit the Admiral, and contract a firm alliance with him. The envoys
of the caciques promised Caunaboa their unlimited support for the
expulsion of the Spaniards, but Hojeda threatened to massacre him if
he chose war rather than peace with the Christians. Caunaboa was very
undecided. Besides, the consciousness of his crimes disturbed him, for
he had cut off the heads of twenty of our men whom he had surprised.
If, therefore, he desired peace on the one hand, on the other he
feared the interview with the Admiral. Having carefully planned his
treachery, he decided that under cover of peace he would seize the
first occasion to destroy Columbus and his men. He set out, escorted
by all his household and a large number of soldiers, armed after the
fashion of the country, to meet the Admiral. When asked why he took
such a numerous troop of men, he answered that it was not becoming
for such a great king as he to quit his house and journey without an
escort. In this event, however, things turned out differently from
what he had expected and he fell into the net that he had himself
prepared. Hardly had he left his house before he regretted his
decision, but Hojeda succeeded by flatteries and promises in bringing
him to Columbus, where he was at once seized and put in irons.[5] The
souls of our dead might rest in peace.
[Note 3: A cacique of the Vega, who was a vassal of Guarionex,
Juatinango by name, had succeeded in killing ten Spaniards and in
setting fire to a house which served as a hospital for forty others
who were confined there ill. After these exploits, he besieged the
blockhouse of Magdalena, which Luis de Arriaga only succeeded in
defending by the greatest efforts. Herrera, _Hist. Ind_., tom, i.,
lib. ii., cap. xvi.]
[Note 4: The principal caciques of Hayti at that time numbered
five. They were: Caunaboa, who was the most powerful of all;
Guarionex, Gauccanagari, Behechio, and Cotubanama.]
[Note 5: Hojeda tricked this cacique into allowing him to fasten
handcuffs on him; after which the helpless chief was carried sixty
leagues through the forests. Pizarro, in his _Varones Illustres_,
relates the story, as does likewise Herrera.]
After the capture of Caunaboa and all his household, the Admiral
resolved to march throughout the whole island. He was informed that
the natives suffered from such a severe famine that more than 50,000
men had already perished, and that people continued to die daily as do
cattle in time of pest.
This calamity was the consequence of their own folly; for when they
saw that the Spaniards wished to settle in their island, they thought
they might expel them by creating a scarcity of food. They, therefore,
decided not only to plant no more crops, but also to destroy and tear
up all the various kinds of cereals used for bread which had already
been sown, and which I have mentioned in the first book. This was
to be done by the people in each district, and especially in the
mountainous region of Cipangu and Cibao; that was the country where
gold was found in abundance, and the natives were aware that the
principal attraction which kept the Spaniards in Hispaniola was gold.
At that time the Admiral sent an officer with a troop of armed men
to reconnoitre the southern coast of the island, and this officer
reported that the regions he had visited had suffered to such an
extent from the famine, that during six days he and his men had eaten
nothing but the roots of herbs and small plants, or such fruits as
grow on the trees. Guarionex, whose territory had suffered less than
the others, distributed some provisions amongst our people.
Some days later Columbus, with the object of lessening journeys and
also to provide more numerous retreats for his men in case of sudden
attack by the natives, had another blockhouse built, which he called
Concepcion. It is situated between Isabella and San Tomas in the
territory of Cibao, upon the frontiers of the country of Guarionex. It
stands upon an elevation, well watered by a number of fresh streams.
Seeing this new construction daily nearing completion, and our fleet
half ruined lying in the port, the natives began to despair of liberty
and to ask one another dejectedly whether the Christians would ever
evacuate the archipelago.
It was during these explorations in the interior of the mountainous
district of Cibao that the men of Concepcion obtained an ingot of
massive gold, shaped in the form of a sponge-like stone; it was as
large as a man's fist, and weighed twenty ounces. It had been found by
a cacique, not on a river bank but in a dry mound. I saw it with my
own eyes in a shop at Medina del Campo in Old Castile, where the Court
was passing the winter; and to my great admiration I handled it and
tested its weight. I also saw a piece of native tin, which might have
served for bells or apothecaries' mortars or other such things as are
made of Corinthian brass. It was so heavy that not only could I not
lift it from the ground with my two hands, but could not even move it
to the right or left. It was said that this lump weighed more than
three hundred pounds at eight ounces to the pound. It had been found
in the courtyard of a cacique's house, where it had lain for a long
time, and the old people of the country, although no tin has been
found in the island within the memory of any living man, nevertheless
knew where there was a mine of this metal. But nobody could ever learn
this secret from them, so much were they vexed by the Spaniards'
presence.[6] Finally they decided to reveal its whereabouts, but it
was entirely destroyed, and filled in with earth and rubbish. It is
nevertheless easier to extract the metal than to get out iron from the
mines, and it is thought that if workmen and skilled miners were sent
out, it would be possible to again work that tin mine.
[Note 6: _Adeo jam stomacho pleni in nostros vivebant_.]
Not far from the blockhouse of Concepcion and in these same mountains,
the Spaniards discovered a large quantity of amber, and in some
caverns was distilled a greenish colour very much prized by painters.
In marching through the forest there were places where all the trees
were of a scarlet colour which are called by Italian merchants
_verzino_, and by the Spaniards brazil wood.
At this point, Most Illustrious Prince, you may raise an objection and
say to yourself: "If the Spaniards have brought several shiploads of
scarlet wood and some gold, and a little cotton and some bits of amber
back to Europe, why did they not load themselves with gold and all the
precious products which seem to abound so plenteously in the country
you describe?"
Columbus answered such questions by saying that the men he had taken
with him thought more of sleeping and taking their ease than about
work, and they preferred fighting and rebellion to peace and
tranquillity. The greater part of these men deserted him. To establish
uncontested authority over the island, it was necessary to conquer
the islanders and to break their power. The Spaniards have indeed
pretended that they could not endure the cruelty and hardship of the
Admiral's orders, and they have formulated many accusations against
him. It is in consequence of these difficulties that he has not so
far thought about covering the expenses of the expeditions. I will
nevertheless observe that in this same year, 1501, in which I am
writing to you, the Spaniards have gathered 1200 pounds of gold in two
months.
But let us return to our narrative. At the proper time I will
describe to you in detail what I have only just touched upon in this
digression.
The Admiral was perfectly aware of the alarm and disturbance that
prevailed amongst the islanders, but he was unable to prevent the
violence and rapacity of his men, whenever they came into contact
with the natives. A number of the principal caciques of the frontier
regions assembled to beg Columbus to forbid the Spaniards to wander
about the island because, under the pretext of hunting for gold or
other local products, they left nothing uninjured or undefiled.
Moreover, all the natives between the ages of fourteen and seventy
years bound themselves to pay him tribute in the products of the
country at so much per head, promising to fulfil their engagement.
Some of the conditions of this agreement were as follows: The
mountaineers of Cibao were to bring to the town every three months a
specified measure filled with gold. They reckon by the moon and
call the months moons. The islanders who cultivated the lands which
spontaneously produced spices and cotton, were pledged to pay a fixed
sum per head. This pact suited both parties, and it would have been
observed by both sides as had been agreed, save that the famine
nullified their resolutions. The natives had hardly strength to hunt
food in the forests and for a long time they contented themselves
with roots, herbs, and wild fruits. Nevertheless the majority of the
caciques, aided by their followers, did bring part of the established
tribute. They begged as a favour of the Admiral to have pity on their
misery, and to exempt them till such time as the island might recover
its former prosperity. They bound themselves then to pay double what
was for the moment failing.
Owing to the famine, which had affected them more cruelly than the
others, very few of the mountaineers of Cibao paid tribute. These
mountaineers did not differ in their customs and language from the
people of the plain more than do the mountaineers of other countries
differ from those who live in the capital. There exist amongst them,
however, some points of resemblance, since they lead the same kind of
simple, open-air life.
But let us return to Caunaboa, who, if you remember, had been taken
prisoner.
This cacique, when he found himself put in irons, gnashed his teeth
like an African lion and fell to thinking, night and day, upon the
means to recover his liberty.[7] He begged the Admiral, since the
region of Cipangu was now under his authority, to send Spanish
garrisons to protect the country against the attacks of neighbours who
were his ancient enemies. He said that it was reported to him that the
country was ravaged, and the property of his subjects considered by
his enemies as their lawful plunder. As a matter of fact it was a trap
he was preparing. He hoped that his brother and other relatives in
Cibao would, either by force or by trickery, capture as many Spaniards
as would be required to pay his ransom. Divining this plot, Columbus
sent Hojeda, but with an escort of soldiers sufficient to overcome
all resistance of the inhabitants of Cibao. Hardly had the Spaniards
entered that region when the brother of Caunaboa assembled about 5000
men, equipped in their fashion, that is to say, naked, armed with
arrows without iron points, clubs, and spears. He succeeded in
surrounding the Spaniards, and held them besieged in a small house.
This chief showed himself under the circumstances to be a veritable
soldier. When he had approached within a distance of one stadium, he
divided his men into five groups, stationing them in a circle, and
assigning to each one his post, while he himself marched directly
against the Spaniards. When all his arrangements were completed, he
ordered his soldiers to advance, shouting all together, so as to
engage in a hand-to-hand combat. He hoped that, by thus surrounding
the Spaniards, none of them would escape. But our men, persuaded that
it was better to attack than to await their assault, fell upon the
most numerous band they saw in the open country. The ground was
adapted for cavalry manoeuvres and the horsemen, opening their charge,
rode down the enemy, who were easily put to flight. Those who awaited
the encounter were massacred; the others, overcome with fright, fled,
abandoning their huts, and seeking refuge in the mountains and upon
inaccessible rocks. They begged for mercy, promising and swearing
to observe all the conditions imposed upon them, if they were only
permitted to live with their families. The brother of the cacique was
finally captured, and each of his men was sent to his own home. After
this victory that region was pacified.
[Note 7: Las Casas (_Hist, de las Indias_, tom, i., p. 102)
relates that Caunaboa never forgave Columbus for his treatment of him,
while he had, on the contrary, great respect for Hojeda, the latter's
clever ruse, deftly executed, being precisely the kind of trickery he
was able to appreciate and admire.]
The mountain valley where the cacique lived is called Magona. It
is traversed by auriferous rivers, is generously productive and
marvellously fertile. In the month of June of this same year occurred
a frightful tempest; whirlwinds reaching to the skies uprooted the
largest trees that were swept within their vortex. When this typhoon
reached the port of Isabella, only three ships were riding at anchor;
their cables were broken, and after three or four shocks--though
there was no tempest or tide at the time--they sank. It is said that
in that year the sea penetrated more deeply than usual into the earth,
and that it rose more than a cubit. The natives whispered that the
Spaniards were the cause of this disturbance of the elements and these
catastrophes. These tempests, which the Greeks called typhoons, are
called by the natives _huracanes_.[8] According to their accounts
hurricanes are sufficiently frequent in the island, but they never
attain such violence and fury. None of the islanders living, nor any
of their ancestors remembers that such an atmospheric disturbance,
capable of uprooting the greatest trees, had ever swept the island;
nor, on the other hand, had the sea ever been so turbulent, or the
tidewater so ravaged. Wherever plains border the sea, flowery meadows
are found nearby.
[Note 8: The word _hurricane_ is from _Hurakan_, the name of the
god or culture hero who, in the mythology of Yucatan, corresponded to
Quetzalcoatl of the Mexicans. Being the god of the winds, storms were
ascribed to his fury, and the typhoons and tempests which broke out
at times with destructive violence over the seas and countries were
called by his name.]
Let us now return to Caunaboa. When it was sought to take them to the
sovereigns of Spain, both he and his brother died of grief on
the voyage. The destruction of his ships detained the Admiral at
Hispaniola; but, as he had at his disposal the necessary artisans, he
ordered two caravels to be built immediately.
While these orders were being carried out, he despatched his brother,
Bartholomew Columbus,--Adelantado, the Spaniards call him, of the
island,--with a number of miners and a troop of soldiers, to the gold
mines, which had been discovered by the assistance of the natives
sixty leagues from Isabella in the direction of Cipangu, As some
very ancient pits were found there, the Admiral believed that he had
rediscovered in those mines the ancient treasures which, it is stated
in the Old Testament, King Solomon of Jerusalem had found in the
Persian Gulf. Whether this be true or false is not for me to decide.
These mines cover an area of six miles. The miners, in sifting some
dry earth gathered at different places, declared that they had found
such a great quantity of gold hidden in that earth that a miner could
easily collect three drachmas in a day's work. After they had
explored that region, the Adelantado and the miners wrote to Columbus
acquainting him with their discovery. The ships being then ready,
Columbus immediately and with great delight embarked to return to
Spain; that is to say, the fifth day of the ides of March in the year
1495.[9] He confided the government of the province with full powers
to his brother, the Adelantado, Bartholomew Columbus.
[Note 9: Columbus sailed on March 10, 1496.]